5 – Number of times in the post-lockout era (2005-06 to present) that the Capitals have accumulated at least 50 penalty minutes in a single game, including last night’s win over the Rangers. By the time the dust had settled on the testosterone-fest, the Caps had been hit with 56 penalty minutes, including 44 in the first period alone.
While last night’s physical affair marked the most penalty minutes earned by the Caps since they racked up 65 against the Flyers back on 11/1/2013 (the infamous Ray Emery-attacking-Braden Holtby affair), it’s hardly a record for this team (although it does crack the top-60 in franchise history).
Thanks in large part to being part of the rough-and-tumble 1980s precursor to the East Division, the Patrick Division, the team record for penalty minutes in a single game is a whopping 177 against – who else? – the Philadelphia Flyers. The 44 penalty minutes in the first period were also far removed being the most in a single frame; that honor belongs to a Caps-Bruins throwdown from November 1998, which featured a legendary goalie fight: